A24 has tapped a rising horror filmmaker to take another run at one of the genre\u2019s most notorious properties: Curry Barker will direct the studio\u2019s new take on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a move that immediately raises expectations about tone and ambition. The hire, first reported by Variety, matters because Barker arrives fresh off critical praise for his recent film and because the project will be developed alongside a separate TV adaptation.<\/p>\n
Variety\u2019s exclusive confirms that Barker \u2014 who has quickly become a name to watch in contemporary horror \u2014 is steering A24\u2019s planned reimagining of the 1974 original. The studio has not released plot details, but the choice of director gives the project a clearer creative profile.<\/p>\n
Curry Barker<\/strong> gained attention this year with Obsession<\/strong>, a tense, high-concept thriller built around a classic \u201cwish with a cost\u201d premise. Critics praised its lean storytelling and unsettling payoff; the film\u2019s atmosphere and moral edge are the qualities that likely appealed to A24.<\/p>\n Before Obsession, Barker made his mark with smaller experiments. His first feature \u2014 a low-budget found-footage release titled Milk & Serial that premiered on YouTube \u2014 showed a knack for generating mood and suspense on limited resources, an asset when reworking an infamous franchise figure like Leatherface<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n<\/ul>\n The film is being developed in parallel with a TV adaptation spearheaded by Glen Powell and Dan Cohen, with JT Mollner attached to direct episodes of the series. That dual-track strategy\u2014feature film plus small-screen companion\u2014could expand the franchise\u2019s reach but also complicate creative cohesion.<\/p>\n What this hire signals is A24\u2019s intent to treat the material as more than a straight remake. The label \u201creimagining\u201d suggests a tonal reset rather than a scene-by-scene recreation, and Barker\u2019s recent work points toward psychological dread rather than gratuitous gore.<\/p>\n Horror runs in cycles, and studios keep returning to recognizable properties when they believe a fresh voice can deliver new cultural currency. For fans and casual viewers alike, the choice of director is a useful early clue: a filmmaker who has shown restraint and concept-driven storytelling could reposition Leatherface for audiences who have seen multiple sequels and reboots.<\/p>\n For the industry, A24\u2019s involvement keeps the title in the conversation with prestige-minded horror, rather than as a routine franchise cash-in. For viewers, it means the next entry could emphasize mood, character consequence, and thematic risk\u2014elements that helped Barker\u2019s prior work stand out.<\/p>\n Details remain scarce, and A24 has not announced a release date. Still, the combination of a celebrated indie-horror studio and a director with recent critical momentum makes this one of the more intriguing horror projects to watch this year.<\/p>\n Until casting, storylines, or a trailer appear, the safest expectation is cautious curiosity: this could be a reinvention that respects the original\u2019s dread while aiming for something more narratively ambitious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":43651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"schema_org_data":"{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Curry Barker\",\"image\":\"https:\/\/image.tmdb.org\/t\/p\/w500\/4rn1gS0tbVghrT4kQ4tiLLV0Q19.jpg\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.themoviedb.org\/person\/2381985\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Glen Powell\",\"image\":\"https:\/\/image.tmdb.org\/t\/p\/w500\/fUnIaJkdgvQTztyR1nLeUceSzly.jpg\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.themoviedb.org\/person\/83271\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Dan Cohen\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.themoviedb.org\/person\/95187\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"JT Mollner\",\"image\":\"https:\/\/image.tmdb.org\/t\/p\/w500\/1ePeIYplgWyXgZkKnDug4jCV7Jv.jpg\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.themoviedb.org\/person\/1283814\"]},{\"@type\":\"Movie\",\"name\":\"The Texas Chain Saw Massacre\",\"image\":\"https:\/\/image.tmdb.org\/t\/p\/w500\/mpgkRPH1GNkMCgdPk2OMyHzAks7.jpg\",\"dateCreated\":\"1974-10-11\",\"aggregateRating\":{\"@type\":\"AggregateRating\",\"ratingValue\":7.281,\"bestRating\":\"10\",\"ratingCount\":3779},\"description\":\"Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way, they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.\"},{\"@type\":\"Movie\",\"name\":\"Obsession\",\"image\":\"https:\/\/image.tmdb.org\/t\/p\/w500\/40I66L7QKguTFDPvcLcdiTbAD7I.jpg\",\"dateCreated\":\"2026-04-16\",\"aggregateRating\":{\"@type\":\"AggregateRating\",\"ratingValue\":6,\"bestRating\":\"10\",\"ratingCount\":3},\"description\":\"After breaking the mysterious \\\"One Wish Willow\\\" to win his crush's heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.\"}]}","_extracted_celebrities":null,"_extracted_movies":null,"_extracted_places":"","_extracted_videos":"","_last_enrichment_date":"2026-05-03 07:47:05","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat we know so far<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
Why this matters now<\/h2>\n